Former 'Jeopardy!' Producer Mike Richards Recalls a 'Missed Opportunity' During the Search For a New Host

No small amount of drama has swirled over installing a new Jeopardy! host after Alex Trebek passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2020. The latest shakeup occurred just months ago in December 2023 when Mayim Bialik, who had shared hosting duties on a rotating basic since 2021, was cut loose by Sony.

But it was Trebek's initial replacement, former producer Mike Richards, who received almost immediate backlash after being named in September 2021, and ended up working for just one day to record a week's worth of episodes. Now, Richards is speaking out to clear the air about how he ended up with the gig in there first place, as well as who he would have liked to be chosen to replace him.

The 48-year-old told People in an interview published on Wednesday that part of the problem was that even after Trebek became sick, there was no discussion about who would replace him because "a conversation like that would have been so disrespectful."

"I actually thought we should just name a new host," Richards explained. "But when Alex passed away, it was hard on everyone. Jeopardy! fans, the country... there's was a whole staff of people where he was the only boss they've ever known. He had a place in everyone's heart, and while we all knew he was ill, his passing was very sudden, if that makes sense. It seemed to happen quickly. We were all legitimately in mourning."

Richards said that after that uproar, the game show began testing potential hosts with guest spots to see who audiences resonated with. "We could find out of they liked a Katie Couric-type, or maybe Anderson Cooper, or Mayim Bialik," he recalled, although he admitted that he thought the job would eventually go to current host Ken Jennings, as in fact it did.

Among the hosts Richards found most impressive were Couric, Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts, and fan-favorite at the time, Aaron Rodgers.

"The show had a different look with Katie Couric," he said. "She was so impressed by everyone's knowledge. I always wondered if that was a missed opportunity, to reboot the show with her, a completely different host."

"Aaron Rodgers was definitely the most prepared," Richards continued. "I was blown away by that, the intensity in which he prepped, and he was so lovely to everyone on staff. But ultimately I worried about his other job that he does on a pretty high level. I was like, 'How are you going to work this out with football scheduling?' He said, 'You'll figure it out!'"

However, Richards also took the time to dispel widely-circulated rumors that he had chosen himself as host, before an investigation by Ringer dug up old podcast episodes in which he had "repeatedly used offensive language and disparaged women's bodies."

"No one was more surprised than me," he claimed. "They told me, 'We'd like you to be the host of the syndicated version of Jeopardy!' I paused, and said, 'Oh wow. Thank you. What's the media plan?' Because I was very concerned that this was going to be scrutinized as closely as a Presidential election. There was widespread belief that whoever got the job first wouldn't make it."

"Everyone was so angry because it looked like I had gone into a room and picked myself," Richards continued. "And that's not what happens in television, but I understood that that's what the outward appearances were."

"I hosted one day. And then the anti-defamation league was called in to do an investigation on me," he added.